Michael Lewis is joining HDR as a principal program manager and an associate VP, further strengthening the company’s expertise in major transportation project management.

Based in HDR’s Manhattan office, Lewis will assist with large, innovative transportation programs locally and globally, drawing on his decades of experience leading projects that have transformed the communities in which he worked.

Lewis brings a deep well of expert knowledge. A former director of two state DOTs, he has also served as president of AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

As deputy director and then executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation from 2015 to 2018, he oversaw 3,000 staff and a program budget in excess of $1.5 billion. A key part of his work was the development of smart technology programs along the state highway system. Before his work with CDOT, Lewis served for seven years as director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, where he led the completion of three of RIDOT’s largest construction projects: the I-95/I-195 interchange (“the Iway”), the Sakonnet River Bridge replacement, and I-95 Pawtucket River Bridge replacement. He was also the project director for Boston’s $15 billion Central Artery/Tunnel Project, more commonly known as “The Big Dig.”

A proven collaborator passionate about finding the right solutions for clients, Lewis is also a member of the National Academy of Construction. He is currently leading a team for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program that is investigating how departments of transportation are changing their organizations and management practices to improve performance through the adoption of new technologies.